Table of Contents Philosophy in Christian Antiquity by Stead, Christopher Terms of Use Foreword List of abbreviations Part I The Philosophical Background 1 From the beginnings to Socrates 2 Socrates and the Platonic forms 3 The philosophy of Plato's maturity 4 Aristotle 5 Epicurus and the Stoics 6 The Middle Platonists and Philo of Alexandria 7 The philosophy of late antiquity Part II The Use of Philosophy in Christian Theology 8 The debate about Christian philosophy 9 Greek and Hebrew conceptions of God 10 Proofs of God's existence 11 God as simple, unchanging being 12 How God is described 13 Logos and Spirit 14 Unity of substance 15 Substance and persons 16 Christ as God and man 17 Two natures united Part III Augustine 18 Philosophy, faith and knowledge 19 Freedom and goodness Bibliography Indexes Descriptive content provided by Syndetics"! a Bowker service. Summary Philosophy in Christian Antiquity by Stead, Christopher Terms of use Christianity began as a little-known Jewish sect, but rose within 300 years to dominate the civilised world. It owed its rise in part to inspired moral leadership, but also to its success in assimilating, criticising and developing the philosophies of the day, which offered rationally approved life-styles and moral directives. Without abandoning their allegiance to their founder and to Holy Scripture, Christians could therefore present their faith as a â??new philosophy'. This book, which is written for non-specialist readers, provides a concise conspectus of the emergence of philosophy among the Greeks; an account of its continuance in early Christian times, and its influence on early Christian thought, especially in formulating the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation; and finally a brief critical assessment of the philosophy of St Augustine - arguably the greatest philosopher of the first millennium. Descriptive content provided by Syndetics"! a Bowker service.